I'm sorry AGAIN for not updating recently... I just get so busy and wrapped up in everything that's going on, and I'm really trying to just BE here.
I'm doing a good job of it so far- I'm learning SO much about myself, and I've really started to notice my changes lately. I'm loving it, and I'm SO completely in love with this place, the choices I'm making, and everything that's happening in my life!
Hmm. What has happened since my last entry?? It's kinda hard to remember.... I hate that! I'll be doing something and I'll think "OH! I've got to put this on my blog!!" And then I'll get home and I'll have something to do and I'll forget.
Sorry.
Don't be mad at me.
OH! England! I knew there was something big to update you on!
I went to England this past weekend (the 10th-14th,) to visit my old dear friend Max. We met four years ago when I was studying at Oxford in England- he worked at the ice cream store near my college. We really hit it off, and have kept in touch ever since! He's one of my closest friends, and I was really excited for the opportunity to see him again. It was strange, seeing as how our only communication since the first (and only) time we met was via the internet and phone- texts, calls, and Facebook were pretty much it.
So I left on Thursday morning (5 a.m. was WAY too early,) to head to England via the Eurostar! THAT was really cool. It's a train that goes under the ocean- underground AND under water. It was intense. Google it.
I got there and had to wait for Max's train to get in- he was running a little late, so I just walked around Oxford for a bit and remembered everything I had seen and done four years ago! That was pretty fun.
After he got there, we caught up for a bit, ate dinner, and then went out to have a beer and go back to the place where we met!! We had a delicious beer at The Eagle and Child (a pretty famous pub in Oxford,) and then went to the ice cream store where we first met- I wish I had taken a picture, but it was nice to have that moment just for us.
On Friday, there was a band playing in London that I LOVE, and I really wanted to go see them- they're a really small group, and not well-known at ALL yet. So when I found out via their MySpace (yeah, that's how huge they are,) that they would be playing in London, I HAD to go!
I e-mailed the group asking them about the venue (it said you had to be over 21 on the website,) and the band wrote me back and put me on their personal guest list! THAT was awesome.
So we took a bus into London in the afternoon, walked around Buckingham Palace (and gave the guards some REALLY funny dialogue,) and then found a really yummy Irish pub with great beer and burgers. I had been craving something American, and really wanted a good burger. And it was SO GOOD! Then we walked across the street to the pub where the concert was- it was really small, and the bands were all playing in the basement, which was really cool.
We didn't have to pay (Catherine Bixler plus one, thankyouverymuch!) and we took our seats and had some delicious beers. Halfway through their set, one of the members of the band that I love leaned off stage, looked at me, and said (in her adorable English accent,) "Are You Christine??" And I laughed and said "haha no, Catherine" and she said "so glad you made it- we'll come talk to you after the show!" And they did, and they were just the most precious things ever and SO sweet. They were so flattered that their music is so popular with someone as far away as "the States," and they all loved seeing their name on my ipod. It was adorable.
The next day we slept in and then left to go camping for the night. Max's best friend has an uncle who has his birthday party out in the woods every year- it's just for one night, and everyone camps out. And when I say it's in the woods, I mean it is in. the. woods. But it's really a fun time, and everyone brings huge truckloads of actual furniture out into the campsite- couches and end tables and whatnot- and they set it up to look like an outdoor living room. It's so funny! Old family pictures were nailed to trees and clocks were hung from branches- hilarious. And the toilet. Oh, man. The toilet. I wish I had taken a picture of it! It was just a hole in the ground, with two 4X4's (I think that's what they're called) on either side of the hole. A chair was placed over the hole, with the seat cut out of it and a toilet seat placed on top of it. Next to the "toilet," they had set up an ironing board with a tv, a radio, and a nice little lamp on it. An umbrella was stuck in the ground on the other side of the "toilet," and one of those room dividers was set up to make a little room for the bathroom. Only ladies were allowed, and you had to plug a light in outside the "room" to let others know it was occupied. It was too funny!
Sunday was a pretty lazy day, and we just napped and showered after we got back from camping. We were tired and pretty gross. That night, we watched a few movies and hung out before bed since I had to leave the next morning. England was a really wonderful trip, and I'm so glad I got the chance to take a little break!
I came back to Brussels on Monday, and had two birthday packages waiting for me- one from my parents and one from my brother and his family. I opened my brother's package right away, but saved my parents' for my birthday. My brother and his sweet family sent me such cute presents- it was so nice to get things from home, and it definitely made me miss them, too!
My birthday was on Thursday (June 17th,) and it was the best birthday I've ever had. Seriously. I really can't think of a way it could have been better. I was really worried about it being a bad day since I'm away from home and away from all of my friends, but it was WONDERFUL. I woke up and opened the package from my parents (which contained a really cute scarf, a coloring book for meditation- which is a lot cooler than it sounds- and a silver spoon ring made out of the silver from their wedding. Which is beautiful.) Then I got out of bed and opened my door to a card from my cousins in Bruges, and they told me in the card that they'll buy me a ticket to a music festival in Bruges that I really wanted to go to. So cool! So I'll head to Bruges the second weekend of July for the Cactus Festival to see Elvis Costello, Regina Spektor, Macy Gray, David Gray, Tori Amos, and others.... I'm pretty excited!!
I left the house around noon to go take Milan (the oldest kid,) to his speech therapy, and Gaetan (the dad,) gave me some money to buy lunch while I was out. On my way to the school, I passes by a tattoo shop that I notice every day but have never been in. On my birthday, though, I figured "why not just go in and ask- just ASK- how much your tattoo would cost." So I did (no one in that place spoke English,) and they quoted me 50 euro for what I wanted done. Which is only about $65, so I had the money. I told them I would think about it, and left to go get lunch. I ate the best baguette that I've had since I've been here, had a yummy Belgian beer, and then headed back to the tattoo shop. I stopped and got some money out from the ATM on my way, and made my appointment for an hour later.
I went home really quickly, changed my shoes, grabbed some water, and looked up which font I wanted my tattoo in online. I made it back to the tattoo shop at 4:05 (my appointment was at 4,) and got it done! Everything was over by 4:30, and I am completely happy with the results!
I like even better the fact that no one knew what I was doing- I didn't tell ANYONE when I decided to actually do it- I did it just for me, and I'm really proud of myself.
I just got the word "go." written on my ankle in black ink. It's really small! My favorite quote is "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be made simpler."-Thoreau, and since Belgium has always been my biggest dream, I wanted to get my first tattoo here, and I knew I wanted it to just say "go." See my facebook for pictures! Now that my parents know, it's no longer a secret. :)
After I got my tattoo, I went to a bar near the house and bought myself a nice Belgian birthday beer. It was really yummy, and then when the rest of the bar found out that it was my birthday, they bought me another one! It was nice.
I got back to the house, and my cousin Jo (the one I stayed with when I first got here,) came to the house for dinner to surprise me, and she had made the salad from my first day here that I loved so much! That was really sweet of her. The family gave me the SWEETEST present, too.
A few days before my birthday, Marie (the mom,) asked me for all of the pictures I've taken since I've been here. I gave them to her on a jump drive, thinking she just wanted them for her own albums. Then, on my birthday, she gave me a photo book that she had gotten made with all of the pictures I've taken! It was completely sweet, and so thoughtful! It's a really nice book, too- with the pictures printed right onto the pages. The last page has a picture of the family that Salome (6 years old,) drew, and at the top of the page, it says "We will miss you" in French. I definitely teared up a little bit when I saw it! It's such a sweet gift, and I am so lucky to have found such a wonderful family.
Not too much else has been going on lately... I went out this week for the first time(s), and had a lot of fun! Wednesday night I went out with Gaetan for after-dinner drinks. I ended up meeting some other Americans that were traveling through Europe, and I stayed out with them for the rest of the night- things got a little crazy, but luckily I had the day off the next day. : )
Thursday night, I went out with some friends of Marie's sister, and that was a lot of fun, too! It was a big party by a really nice lake, and the weather was perfect- I had a really great time!
Tonight, my friend Coston from the States is gonna be in Brussels for one night, so I'm taking him out and showing him around a little bit. I felt horrible for not updating sooner, so I figured I'd update while I have some time waiting for him- I have the house to myself, too, which is a nice change of pace!
Thanks to the adorable Abby Kraft for inspiring me to update- it's always reassuring to know that people are reading the things I'm taking the time to write! I have two really funny stories about me misunderstanding French and saying things horribly wrong, but this entry is long enough and I don't want to write anymore! I'm impressed with anyone who has made it this far. I'll post the funny stories later, though- thanks for reading!
Elated in Europe,
Catherine
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